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Kim Davis apparently has become a Christian martyr to some Evangelicals, including former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee and United States Senator Ted Cruz. Both men are Southern Baptists seeking the office of President of the United States.

However, what Huckabee and Cruz don\’t know about the Kentucky county clerk recently jailed for her stand against gay marriage is that she believes that all Christians that don\’t subscribe to her sect\’s specific beliefs will be denied salvation and apparently spend eternity in hell.

Davis belongs to the Solid Rock Apostolic Church in Morehead, Kentucky. Solid Rock is a member of Apostolic Pentecostal Churches and Ministries and is listed at its directory for Kentucky.

The Apostolic Church website lists \”60 questions on the Godhead,\” which specifically deny the existence of the trinity as believed by the overwhelming majority of Christians, including Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz.

The Apostolic Church website also explains \”Why We Baptize in Jesus\’ Name,\” which excludes the efficacy of any other baptism formula, such as those done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit., which represents what Apostolic Churches consider the false doctrine of the trinity. This \”formula of baptism\” is essential for salvation. As the Apostolic Churches website states, \”Out basic and fundamental doctrine shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is the absolute essentiality of repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.\”

The Apostolic Church further concludes, \”We believe the Bible teaches that the above statement to be essential and not subsequent to salvation.\”

What this means is that anyone, including Evangelicals like Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, are required to meet these requirements or they have no salvation and will apparently be condemned to hell. According to Kim Davis\’ beliefs the pastor and former governor of Arkansas and the United States senator must renounce their false beliefs about the trinity and be re-baptized only in the name of Jesus and thus become true believers. Anything less is unacceptable to God according to Davis and her church.

The formula Huckabee and Cruz must follow for their redemption according to Ms. Davis\’ beliefs is reiterated as \”The Apostles\’ Doctrine at the official church association website. It states, \”Water baptism is an essential part of New Testament salvation and not merely a symbolic ritual.\” And nothing less than the strict formula as proscribed by Kim Davis\’ church will fulfill this requirement. The Apostolic Church website says, \”The name in which baptism is administered is vitally important, and this name is Jesus.\” This formula for baptism has often been called the \”Jesus Name Only Baptism,\” by members of the United Pentecostal Church International, which is the most prominent denomination of Pentecostals that subscribe to this doctrine. The Assemblies of God, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world today, believes in the trinity and has no such baptismal requirements.

The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) and some other Pentecostal splinter groups, which seems to include the Apostolic Pentecostal Churches and Ministries that lists Kim Davis\’ Solid Rock Apostolic Church, also subscribe to what is often called the \”Holiness Standards.\” That is, a strict code of dress and grooming. The holiness standards includes rules about such things as the length of woman\’s dress, wearing makeup, certain jewelry and hair length. Kim Davis\’ appearance seems to suggest that her church encourages its members to follow such holiness standards, similar to those mandated for women by the UPCI.

So what do Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and the other Evangelicals supporting Kim Davis know about all of this? Does the newly anointed martyr for religious freedom really believe in religious freedom? Or is Kim Davis only posing as a mainstream Evangelical when she is really from a fringe Pentecostal group that condemns Christians who disagree with its doctrine?

Will Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and other Evangelical supporters of Ms. Davis follow her example and go to an Apostolic Church to be re-baptized to insure their salvation?

Probably not.

Would Ms. Davis recognize Pastor Huckabee and Senator Cruz\’ existing baptisms as valid, despite the fact that they did not follow the Apostolic Church formula?

Probably not.

Does Ms. Davis and her church really believe in freedom of faith for Evangelicals? Or is the country clerk caught up in a form of religious legalism that doesn\’t recognize the salvation of her fellow Christians?

It seems that despite receiving their support Kim Davis believes that Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, along with the vast majority of Evangelicals, are condemned to hell unless they repent and are baptized according to the \”formula\” Ms. Davis accepts.

Update: It seems that Pope Francis now also endorses Kim Davis. But does Pope Francis know that she believes he is damned to hell? According to Kim Davis and her church Pope Francis must repent concerning his false belief in the trinity and be re-baptized in Jesus name only to receive salvation. Reportedly, Pope Francis is praying for Kim Davis.

A United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) minister has been named in a lawsuit regarding sexual misconduct reports the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Rev. James Manning of Solid Rock Ministries is accused of sexually abusing a girl beginning at the age of 12.

Manning denies the claims and no criminal charges have been filed.

But the Pentecostal preacher has resigned from his position as district superintendent of the Missouri office of the UPCI.

Manning continues to pastor his church. And that church has also been named as a defendant in the suit.

This is the second sex scandal to rock the UPCI in less than a year.

The first hit when the denomination’s worldwide Sunday school Director Rev. Oree Nation, was arrested for sexual misconduct in a public park.

Nation plead guilty to a misdemeanor and was given probation. He was initially suspended without pay, but quickly opted for retirement.

The UPCI is known for its stringent code of “holiness” that mandates members must dress and groom in a certain conservative manner. For example, women usually wear no makeup and don’t cut their hair. Men are typically clean-shaven and wear short haircuts.

The denomination also believes that Christians who accept the trinity are in error and will be damned, unless they renounce that belief and accept the UPCI proscribed doctrinal formula for baptism.

Salvation is a fairly exclusive club according this Pentecostal group, but it looks like a few of its ministers need to worry about more than their haircuts.

A high-ranking leader within the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) plead guilty to a misdemeanor for sexual misconduct, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.

Rev. Ronald Oree Nation, 70, was caught having sex in public park, an unseemly sight for a minister from a group that prides itself upon “holiness standards” regarding personal conduct and dress.

But undress was apparently the issue in this criminal case.

Nation, once the Sunday School director of the UPCI at its headquarters was suspended him without pay and then went into retirement.

The court in St. Louis has decided the first two years of Nation’s retirement will include probation and he must pay a $1,000 fine.

The UPCI essentially believes that those who do not accept their interpretation of the bible regarding baptism and a “oneness” belief that rejects the trinity will be condemned to hell.

The arrest and guilty plea of Rev. Nation is no doubt a deep embarrassment for the UPCI, which is in the habit of pointing out the sins and failings of others.

Rev. Ronald Oree Nation once watched over Sunday school programs for the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) across the country, but now the man with twenty years of service to that denomination won’t even see a paycheck, reports The St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Nation almost 70 was busted in a public park for allegedly having sex with another man. He apparently was literally caught with his pants down.

The UPCI is not waiting to see if Nation is found “guilty.” They seem to have already decided that and has been “retired.”

The UPCI is known for its “holiness standards,” which include strict rules about personal grooming and dress. It comes as no great surprise then that the fringe Pentecostal denomination would effectively toss out someone publicly exposed for sexual misconduct.

No doubt Nation kept his homosexuality a secret, the UPCI has a history of denouncing that sexual preference.

Likewise the UPCI denounces other Christians who do not abjure the trinity as “pagans” in need of salvation. They also believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. This means that Christians not baptized according to the doctrine are going to hell.

Nation may be out of job, but he can still go to heaven. That is, if he continues in his commitment to the UPCI and its doctrines.

The United Pentecostal Church International is known for its “holiness standards,” which include rigid rules for appearance such as men must be clean-shaven, no facial hair and very conservative dress.

But the UPCI dress code is not what Rev. Ronald Oree Nation, 69, has to worry about now. The St. Louis UPCI Sunday school director was arrested for violating the criminal code, for allegedly engaging in sex acts within a public park, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The UPCI routinely judges others for not being “holy” enough and says Christians who accept the trinity and are not baptized according to their “oneness” creed are condemned to hell.

What about Rev. Nation? He may have looked holy, but apparently his behavior didn’t match his appearance.

UPCI officials said they were “shocked and saddened by the allegation” and that “appropriate action” would be taken. Reportedly the minister may “retire” soon.